Has CNN ranked Kenya as the leading African Economy in the next 20 years?

An article published on Opera News on August 4 claims that CNN has ranked Kenya as Africa’s leading economy in the next 20 years.

Background

According to the World Bank, Africa’s largest economies are Nigeria, South Africa and Angola.

The COVID-19 pandemic has, however, borne a significant impact on the continent’s economy. On April 9, a World Bank report revealed that the Sub-Sahara Africa region has for the first time in 25 years seen an economic recession as a result of the pandemic.

Verification

A screenshot taken during a CNN show is part of the article claiming that CNN has ranked Kenya as Africa’s leading economy in the next 20 years.

The screenshot is from the ‘Quest Means Business’ show that airs weeknights (East African Time) on CNN International.

According to a video on the ‘Quest Means Business’ YouTube channel, the screenshot is from 2018. The video was published on YouTube on November 1, 2018. Richard Quest, the host, invited his audience to participate in an opinion poll seeking to find out which economy would lead in Africa in the next 20 years.

The results shown in the image (see below) are therefore not drawn from a research or survey by CNN but from an opinion poll as voted by viewers of Richard Quest’s show at the time.

The question was also posed to the show’s audience via a tweet published on October 31, 2018.

Which economy will lead #Africa in the next 20 years? #Kenya, #Ethiopia, #Nigeria, #SouthAfrica?

Vote now at https://t.co/xwmOSdpZwn and tune in to #QMB – starting now on @cnni #CNNJoin pic.twitter.com/lHFVQNqn2M

— Quest Means Business (@questCNN) October 31, 2018

Similarly, results published on the Opera News article do not reflect final results of the opinion poll. According to the video on the ‘Quest Means Business’ YouTube channel, the screenshot was taken in the middle of the show. By the end of the show, Nigeria had led in the poll.

Verdict

The Opera News article claiming that CNN has ranked Kenya as the leading African economy in the next 20 years is actually from an opinion poll from 2018 where Nigeria eventually won. The article is misleading and assertions to that effect are false.